Hospitality

I have now made it possible to post comments on the site. If you look on the bottom of each post, it should say the time that it was posted and on the right side say comments. It is grey and if you click on it, it will take you to the individual page for that post and at the bottom of that there will be a comment box. Again, I would love to hear feedback, suggestions on places to go, if I should put up more pictures etc.

Since I've been asked a few times now, here is my classes/ schedule.

1. Italian 101 - meets Mon: 10-10:50; Tues, Wed: 2-2:50; and Fri: 10:30-12:00 This is the only class that meets 4 times a week (I wish it was fridays off so that we could get a jump on traveling, but oh well, I'll live)

2. Ancient Art of Rome - Mon: 3:40 - 4:30; Wed: 9 - 12:30 The Wed class is a walking tour that takes us to different museums, monuments, and sites with our professor as our tour guide. These places will include the Colosseum, the capitoline museums. What I really like about this class is that the professor always puts an architectural twist on everything and building we see. He is very eccentric and very tough (he admits it and an A is anything 80% and above).

3. Public Finance - Tues and Thurs: 4:30 - 5:45 I wish I wasn't taking this because it is incredibly boring, doesn't use the very available city, and slow. We spent the entire last class basically rephrasing that the government and change taxes or its budget to affect the business cycle... Oh well it gives me credit for my major.

4. Exploring Rome: Books, Movies, and You - Thurs: 2 - 4:30 Meeting once a week is a bonus, but I think this will be the most enjoyable and unique class. This class, taught by a professor from Trinity in Connecticut, focuses on how Rome is used in literature, media, and culture. For instance, we watched Three Coins in the Fountainand Roman Holiday in class last week and this next class we get to go and visit the places where it was filmed such as the Trevi Fountain. In two weeks we get to watchGladiator!!!!

5. Internship - Mon: 1:40 - 2:30; TBA I don't have much to say on this yet because I have not been accepted or assigned to a position. I am trying to work at one of two restaurants: one Le Fate in the kitchen, and the other, Da Luigi working with management and waiting tables. I would prefer Le Fate because of the cooking aspect, but would be happy with both.

Now that the logistics are out of the way, let the story telling begin.

Friday was a semi-lazy day. We had double italian classes because we will missing it in 2 weeks to go to florence (La Giostra here I come). For the second italian class we watched a movie, Io non Ha Paura or I'm Not Scared. It was a great movie that showcased the Italian countryside and is the story about a boy who discovers his family is involved in a kidnapping and helps free the boy. It won a ton of awards abroad and in the US as well. The early afternoon/ evening was lethargic, I did the majority of my homework (the superbowl is today and I don't want to miss that, more on that later) while everyone else slept. Hoping to try somewhere new, a few of us didn't go with the main group; unfortunately, we ended up at the same stupid Insalata Ricca which is good but not for the fourth time already. I justified it that it was a free meal (used a coupon) and that I might as well get them out of the way. The it was back to On The Rox for a couple drinks and then we meandered over to a club called Coyote. 15 euro cover charge put a little hole in the wallet, but I was consoled by the "free" (and by free i mean small and watered down) drink that it included. It was a strange place, the line to get in was long, but we got in quickly and to find the place practically empty. I had full arm distance in all directions in some spots. The entire thing was built into a cave and gave off a erie feeling of claustrophobia. After dancing and drinking for a while, a few of us found that there was a VIP upstairs club that was much better than the bottom, lowly, peasant club on the first floor. Upstairs there was a small bar where the drinks were much larger, the music was modern hip hop (everywhere else the music has been 3 - 6 months old), and the party was packed. The DJ was spinnin, the drinks were pourin, and the dancing was flowin. Hours later it was time to leave and we made our all too familiar walk up the hill to the Hotel.

Saturday, I took my first adventure. After a quick breakfast/ lunch (12:15) of caprese pizza, we returned to the hotel promptly due to a slew of rain. The thunder was the loudest I had ever heard and I wish I had caught it on video, it almost made my room shake. Although not the greatest white noise, I somehow drifted into a restful sleep. Awoken at 3, rain still pounding away, I did some more homework and sought for an opportune time to get out in the city. I felt guilty that I wasn't doing anything, I'm only here for 3 months and need to embrace it each day (the rain makes this a little difficult though). Finally after the sky was done raining cats, and before it started with the dogs, I had my chance. I took off to the subway station by the Circo Massimo (Ben Hur anybody?, funny thing I've never seen it). Three stops on the blue line to Termini and Three stops on the red line (the subway lines form an X, http://www.rome.info/metro/) and I was at Spagna. A two minute walk to my left, the Spanish Steps, two minutes to my right Villa Borghese gardens. The gardens peaceful, serene, and dewey. There were statues everywhere and fountains were abundant. My favorite was the Temple of Aesculapius which sits on a lake full of mallards and boats, where on a sunny day tourists can canoe around. The buildings were large but not extravagant, each of which has turned into a museum of some sort. I had zero cash on me so I couldn't go in anywhere, but it was still nice to walk around. I have no cash, because my pin for my new debit card doesn't work and I am stuck with only a credit card until monday or tuesday. Another great site was the ancient wall that had been cut into to form a tunnel connecting two parts of the city (see attached photos) and framed the hotels in the background. After about 2 1/2 hours, the sun said I'm tired, hid, and unleashed the dogs. The droplets were quite large and forced me back underground to take shelter in the subway. The Diesel ads in the subway are hilarious and all of them revolve around stupid being better. "Smart Critiques, Stupid Creates", "Smart has the brains, Stupid has the balls", "We're with Stupid"... I found these insightful and funny at the same time; mainly they made my train ride more enjoyable and feel less cramped (watch your pockets, a girl already got her camera lifted).

Last night, we got to do something completely different, we headed to Trastevere (which literally means across the river) had a great meal and went to a new bar. The restaurant Monzu Vladi housed 10 of us; it was a small but spacious restaurant with about 20 tables, 2 cooks, and 2 waiters (plus an owner who sat at a table and relaxed, to be continued...) Our waiter told us we had to start with the fried pizza and caprese salads. The pizza wasn't pizza at all. Shaped like a hockey puck but double its height, doused in some marinara sauce with a single basil leaf and a sprinkle of pecorino, it was light, airy, and delicious. The dough was flakey and let the other components shine. Caprese was amazing, the best so far, the mozzarella was cut thick, the tomatoes were fresh, and the basil was flavorful. With the addition of a little balsamic, it alerted my stomach that it is time to eat. Next the waiter suggested we did family style and order 3 different pastas, a bolognese, a gnocchi with a tomato mozzarella sauce, and an unknown type (it was a flat, square shaped ring pasta) with eggplant. All three were great, as always, I preferred the bolognese, but that seemed to be the agreement amongst the group. The gnocchi was prepared perfectly, its cheesiness and soft texture of the potato was a great combination. We couldn't have asked for a better meal or a more gracious waitstaff, but it came at a price. 3 pizzas, 3 caprese, 3 pastas, 4 liters of wine, 4 bottles of water came out to 25 euro a person. Not a terrible price, but kind of out of the wheel house of some of our companions (I have found the reason why they have gone to Insalata every night, which would have been more around 15 each).

I enjoyed the meal so much that as we left, I asked the waiters about interning or apprenticing while I was here and what the general practice was in Italy for this. He said well do it here and dragged me over to the owner who took me by the hand and led me into the kitchen to meet the chefs. It was a small two man operation with an 8 burner stove, 2 ovens, a salamander, a grill, and a couple of stainless steel work areas. I was impressed by the cramped quarters and in broken italian tried to tell the chefs my goal. They said I was always welcome here but that I should try a different restaurant (I will have to call to get the name again, the guy was difficult to understand) because it would be a better experience. I couldn't tell if this was a way to dismiss me or if he was really saying that it would be better for me. He said that I was welcome and that it would be fun but to try the other first. After about 5 minutes of talking and watching them plate dishes, I said I have to leave and meet my friends but that I would be back soon.

This hospitality was one that I have only encountered in Italy; no where in America, could I compliment the chef, tell him I want to learn from him and be told to come back next week. The waiters were all to helpful, and the owner's friendliness was contagious. It was a great experience and I will be back there very soon. Looking back on the meal, I love being told what to order, especially when there are too many good choices and they don't give you menus. Some of the best meals I've had, were ones where the guy just started bringing stuff. Again, completely different from the US.

After that very amicable and warming experience we went to Stairs bar. It was a little expensive and cramped with 50 americans. I met a few new people from the program, had a drink, and planned a trip to Siena for next weekend (this free and easy attitude, has seemed to work well so far). We then sought out a club to dance, coming to Dee Jay's Pub where we walked straight past the tiny bar, down stairs to a 3 room cavern where very loud music was playing. Due to an unbearable smell, similar to a locker room (I said football, the east coasters said Hockey, to be more specific) we left quickly. It's too bad because the music was good, plenty of people looking to have fun, but the oder was far too much.

The walk home was chilly but fun, and we crossed the river and entered the dead silent neighborhood of the Aventine. It is a unique spot, "the best in the city, and richest" tucked in between everything but removed from the noise and pollution. It has been a great weekend so far and tonight is going to be a great way to end it. Superbowl kick off time is 2:25 am over here, so we are going to be pulling an all nighter. Go Saints, but I am predicting a Colts win. Pictures to follow...